As honest as we all want to be about our financial situations, sometimes a little white lie creeps in every now and then: Maybe you can't afford that dinner your friends are going to, and it's less embarrassing to say you have the flu. Or, maybe you slightly exaggerate your paycheck to friends in either direction, so no one knows you're the worst paid — or even highest paid — of the bunch.

Talking about money is awkward, and no one gets it right 100% of the time. But it's easier to learn from those mistakes when you reflect on them. So, we asked our readers: What's the biggest money lie you've ever told?

1/

The biggest lie I've ever told about my spending habits...

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"My husband and I make over $120,000 a year and have over $40,000 in savings, but I always tell coworkers 'sorry, I'm broke' when they want to get lunch. I don't want to spend $10 on a sandwich when I can eat the one I brought from home! It just feels silly to me." —Becca, 24

"I spend a good amount of money on things like food, drinkware, and stationery, so I take the price tags off the things I buy before I go home, just in case my mom asks how much something is. And the answer is always 'mahal' ('expensive' in Tagalog), so she knows better than to ask again." —Aines, 27

"My mom told me to buy a piece of salmon for dinner. I went to the local market, which is high quality but very expensive. I told the guy at the fish counter that I wanted a piece of salmon and pointed at the first one I saw, without checking the price. After he picked it up and weighed it, I realized it was wild and freshly caught — one piece for $30!!!!! He had already wrapped it up for me, so I just went ahead and paid for it. I later told my mom that it was 'too expensive' without mentioning a price. If she checked her credit card statement, my plan was just to tell her I bought some other stuff along with the salmon." —Liza, 21

"How much I spent while studying abroad. I supported myself through college, and having experiences abroad was important to me. Some people may view the expenses I incurred as absurd — it really was a lot. But I firmly believe that the experience was transformative, and it was my decision to make. " —Andrea, 22

2/

The biggest lie I've ever told about loans and debt...

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"Student loans are really embarrassing to me. I have about $130,000 in student loans and when people ask, I just say I have a lot. My mom doesn't even know how much. My husband is the only one. I say that I have about $100,000, and even that makes people feel bad for me. I just chalk it up to having a bachelor's and two master's degrees. " —Rebekah, 28

"My parents paid for my entire education, so I have no student loans. But I feel very awkward around my friends who complain about their loans, so I lie and agree with them that paying back loans is the worst. " —Julia, 25

"How much credit card debt I had — when I first met my now husband (who has never had credit card debt), I told him a significantly lower number. I paid it off before we got married." —Samantha, 29

"Not disclosed my debt (to friends/family), which at the time was around $40,000." —Brooke, 29

3/

The biggest lie I've ever told when it comes to paying for housing...

"My lucky and fortunate boyfriend owns our $1.2 million apartment and I live rent-free, but I tell everyone we rent our place from an out-of-state landlord for $3,500 a month. This sounds better, considering we're only 24, and I don't want other people to feel uncomfortable about it, especially if they look up the price." —Sarah, 24

"I told my parents the money they were giving me for our down payment wasn't going towards debt, but I ended up having to use some of it to pay down debt, otherwise I wouldn't have qualified for my mortgage. " —Candice, 35

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The biggest lie I've ever told about receiving or giving family financial assistance...

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"That we didn't have the money to 'loan' a relative who had 'borrowed' from us twice before and never paid back." —Courtney, 31

"My in-laws asked to borrow a large sum of money to pay for an attorney for my brother-in-law regarding custody of his child with the child's mother. We didn't agree with the circumstances and said we didn't have the money. To be honest, we had great concern about their ability to pay it back." —Vivi, 36

"I lie about my parents helping me pay for everything while I'm living at home. I quit my corporate job and moved home to start my own business a couple of months ago. I used all of my savings (and then some) for the costs of setting up an LLC, advertising, getting a space ready, and more. My friends think I do everything on my own, and at this point, I feel like I can't let them know the truth, because none of them get financial help from their parents. One of my friend's parents even charges him rent for living in their home. I'm in a completely different situation and trying my best to gather enough money so that I can be financially independent, because I not only feel guilty for lying, I also need my parents to stop watching all of my spending habits so closely. I feel like I'm 14 again." —Emily, 23